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Swings and misses

I’ve got to admit, I was a little disappointed I did not get the questionnaire back from Wathan. I had a strange affection for the Royals of the late 1970’s and he was, obviously one of them. That said, I was not surprised. The younger guys (more recent players) seem far less likely to fill out the questionnaire than the older men. It will be interesting to see if this is still the case in 20 years when they are even further removed from their playing days. Wathan was an interesting catcher because he could run. In fact, he stole 10 or more bases four times in his career, with his top mark being 36 in 1982. He is ninth on the all-time list for career steals by a catcher with 105. You may be surprised to know that Carlton Fisk ranks four spots above him with 123. For more Wathan stats go here.

1959 Topps

Shipley did not win a game in his four seasons in the big leagues. He did lose one. He pitched in just 29 games, mainly for the Giants, but he did get into three games for the Chicago White Sox in 1963.

1959 Topps

A 10-game winner in 1957, Acker won just nine total games in the other three seasons he pitched in the majors. Primarily a reliever, he saved eight games in his career which was spent entirely in Cincinnati. He did make 23 starts over those four seasons and pitched in 153 total games with a 4.12 career ERA.